LIVINGSTON — The wife of French Settlement's police chief pleaded no contest to a first-offense drunken driving charge Tuesday in a plea deal that keeps her out of jail and also requires that she not get behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Tammy Brignac, who raised eyebrows this winter when she was seen driving a village police car in a Christmas parade, also pleaded no contest to one count of driving with a suspended license.

In exchange for the pleas no contest to those charges, which carry the same weight as a guilty plea in criminal court, Livingston Parish Assistant District Attorney Chris Edwards dropped more serious charges of resisting an officer and flight from an officer.

Edwards also reduced her official blood alcohol content from .177 to .14, thereby avoiding an aggravated offense that would have required her to spend two nights in jail.

Twenty-first Judicial District Judge Jeff Johnson sentenced Brignac to a two years of probation, a suspended 6-month prison sentence, community service and fees. As a special term of her probation, she is not allowed to operate a motor vehicle.

The charges were related to an incident at night on Feb. 18, when a drunken Brignac, 51, pulled up behind the French Settlement Police Department office, then fled from officers who came out of the station to investigate the car that was idling late at night, according to a police report.

The wife of the French Settlement police chief, who was arrested for allegedly driving drunk Saturday night, first attracted law enforcement a…

Brignac attempted to run over an officer and sped off, the report says. When officers stopped her car first on La. 16, the report says, Brignac told them she “only had to listen to Harry Brignac” then drove from that location back to her home where she was arrested.

Brignac was not driving the patrol car when she was arrested, according to police. She declined to comment after the hearing Tuesday.

When the wife of French Settlement’s chief of police was seen driving his patrol car in the village’s annual Christmas parade last month, it r…

Her husband, Harry Brignac, is expected to be arraigned in court Wednesday on one count of malfeasance in office. He was arrested July 11 after an investigation found he used a town credit card to purchase fuel for his personal vehicle. His attorney has blamed a mix-up.

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